Can opener and dispensing device



Nov. 8, 1966 c. E. DRIZA CAN OPENER AND DISPENSING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 18, 1965 MM T0 RN EYS lNVENTOR CHARLES E DR/ZA Ewan-5W 41 2 42 FIG 6 Nov. 8, 1966 Filed Feb. 18, 1965 c. E. DRIZA 3,283,958

CAN OPENER AND DISPENSING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR CHARLES E DR/ZA Kg 4.07.7 BY F|G.5 l 020 J 0/. LUZLM R ZE I'ORNEYS United States Patent ()fiice 3,283,958 Patented Nov. 8, 1966 3,283,958 CAN OPENER AND DISPENSING DEVICE Charles E. Driza, Belleville, N.J., assignor to Chevron Research Company Filed Feb. 18, 1965, Ser. No. 433,649 1 Claim. (Cl. 222-835) This invention relates to combined can openers and pouring spouts and more particularly to a device for opening cans having relatively flexible side walls. The object of the present invention is a combined can opener and self-supporting structure adapted to eliminate the application of compressive forces on a can when it is being opened by puncture of its end closure.

The combined can opener and pouring spout of the present invention is particularly useful for opening containers of lubricating oils. A recent innovation in the packaging of lubricating oils has been the development of a flexible-walled plastics container having conventional sheet metal end closures. The flexible-walled container provides certain advantages in the distribution and handling of the lubricating oils; however, some difliculties have been encountered in using conventional puncture type can openers when the lubricating oils are dispensed from these containers. The difliculty arises if an operator applies an excess force against the container, particularly if the force is applied at any slight angle, causing the container to buckle. In such a circumstance the lubricating oils within the container may be caused to squirt out where the end closure is punctured. While the flexible-walled container may be opened successfully if the amount of force that is applied is not excessive, there remains the need for extra care in opening the container. The combined can opener and pouring spout of the present invention eliminates the problem of buckling the container walls by providing a self-contained structure against which the forces are applied in opening the container so that the flexible walls of the container are not required to function in the process of opening the container.

The objects of the present invention will be fully apparent to those skilled in the art from the specification and appended drawings illustrating a certain preferred embodiment in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of the present invention illustrating, in phantom, a container within the device and the position of the combined opener and pouring spout when the container is initially positioned and, in full line, the eventual position of the opener and spout after the containers end closure has been punctured.

FIGURE 2 is a partial front elevational view illustrating the pouring spout in operating position.

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of the device of the present invention.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 44 of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 5 is a partial rear elevational view showing the opener and pouring spout in open position.

FIGURE 6 is a partial sectional view illustrating an alternative form of latching mechanism for the opener and pouring spout of the present invention.

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view taken along the lines 7-7 of FIGURE 6.

The combined can opener and pouring spout of the present invention includes a self-support base portion 11 and a combination opener and spout 12 supported on the base. The base includes a flat bottom portion 13 and a half cylinder wall portion 14 secured to the base at the bottom and open at its upper end. At the open upper end an angle bracket 15 is secured to the outermost edges of the wall portion 14 so as to extend across the entire half cylinder structure. At the center of the half cylinder formation and at the upper end of the wall portion 14 a hinge structure 16 is secured to the wall portion 14. The movable portion of the hinge structure 16 is the bottom plate 17 of the combined opener and pouring spout 12. By this structure the combined opener and pouring spout 12 is hingedly mounted to the base portion 11. A stop member 18 is suitably secured to the wall portion 14 just below the hinge structure 16 so as to limit the maximum opening rotation of the opener and spout for a purpose to be more fully described hereinafter. The bottom plate 17 is so constructed as to encounter one leg 19 of the angle bracket 15 and thus limit the rotational movement of the combined opener and pouring spout in the other direction.

The combined opener and pouring spout 12 includes a hollow spout 21 secured to the bottom plate 17 at a central opening 22 therein. Also secured to the bottom plate 17 adjacent to the hinge 16 is a cutting blade 23 functioning as the opener in the present invention. Surrounding the opening 22 at the side of the bottom plate 17 having the blade 23 secured thereto is a compressible gasket material 24 operative to provide a relatively fluidtight seal between the bottom plate 17 and the top of a container being opened with the device of the present invention.

At the upper surface of the bottom plate 17 and at one side thereof an ear 25 is formed at an angle to the bottom plate. To this ear a resilient locking member 26 is secured by suitable means. The locking member includes a central thumb plate 27 aligned generally with the center of the spout 21 and a latch lip 28 at the free end. The latch lip 28 is positioned in alignment with a latch detent 29 formed or secured to the other leg 31 of the angle bracket 15. The locking member 26 is formed of a relatively flexible material so as to pivot about its fixed end at the car 25 and to engage and lock the bottom plate 17 against the bracket 19 by engagement of the latch lip 28 with the latch detent 29. The locking member 26 can, however, be easily released by pressure against the thumb plate 27 to move the latch lip away from the latch detent as the locking member 26 is pivoted from the ear 25.

An alternative form of latching mechanism is illustrated in FIGURES 6 and 7. This latch mechanism constitutes a flexible locking member 41 suitably secured to a leg of the angle bracket 15 generally near its engagement with the wall portion 14. The locking member'includes an car 42 formed or secured to the free end of the locking member 41 so as to be perpendicular thereto. At the free end of the ear 42 a spike 43 is secured by suitable means so as to project upwardly from the ear generally parallel to the body of the locking member 41. The angle bracket 15 of this modification is cut out at 44 to accommodate the spike 43 so that the spike may be moved with respect to the angle bracket and toward the hinge structure 16 in and out of the cut out 44.

The spike 43 is slotted at 45 on the side toward the body of the locking member 41. The bottom plate 17 of the combined opener and spout 12 in this modification is provided with a hole at 46 in alignment with the spike 43 so that the bottom plate may be moved downwardly into engagement with the horizontal leg 19 of the angle bracket 15 and in so moving the spike 43 is forced through the hole 46. The movement of the spike 43 through the hole 46 causes the locking member 41 to be rotated toward the hinge structure 16 about its pivot on the angle bracket 15. The resilient bias of the locking member 41, however, causes it to be forced away from the hinge, and when the bottom plate 17 is aligned with the slot 45 in the spike 43, the locking member 41 will carry the spike and its slot into a locking contact with the bottom plate 17. When it is desired to release this locking engagement, pressure may be applied against the upright portion of the locking member 41 to release the engagement of the slot 45 with the bottom plate 17 and the opener and pouring spout may be rotated about its hinge to release the bottom plate from the latch.

When the combined opener and pouring spout 17 is rotated into its open position as shown in phantom in FIGURE 1 a heel portion 51 of the pouring spout 21 engages the free end 52 of the stop member 18 so as to limit the maximum rotation of the spout 21 about the hinge 16. In this manner the cutting blade 23 is maintained substantially horizontal, generally parallel to the upper end of the base portion 11 and at least partially guarded by the angle bracket 15. It may be recognized that the cutting blade 23 is extremely sharp and rigid and if the spout 21 were permitted to rotate fully about the hinge 16 the blade 23 could project upwardly from the opener in a dangerous position. The stop member 18 eliminates this dangerous possibility while still permitting the spout to be self-draining.

The operation and use of the improved opener and pouring spout of the present invention should be readily apparent from the foregoing description of its elements. It may be seen that when a container is inserted into the base portion 11 so as to be cupped by the wall portions 14 its upper end will be positioned to be engaged by the cutting blade 23 in an opening operation. The procedure of opening the can is to rotate the spout 21 about the hinge 16 so that the cutting blade 23 presses against the end closure and punctures an opening therein. The spout 21 is rotated until the locking member 26 or 41 secures the bottom plate 17 against the leg 19 of the angle bracket 15. When in this position the gasket material 24 will have been compressed against the upper surface of the end closure of the can and a fluid-tight engagement of the spout to the can will have been completed. The entire can and opener may then be moved to dispense the fluid from the container as desired.

The entire opening procedure as above described has been accomplished without applying excessive compressional forces against the container positioned in the base portion 11. The fluid within the container will therefore not likely squirt out through the opening as it is made in the end closure. The combined opener and spout works equally as well on containers of rigid wall construction whether of the sheet metal type or of the foilcovered fiber materials.

After the fluids have been dispensed from the container, the container and the pouring spout may be permitted to stand upright on the bottom portion 13 or, as is sometimes the case, the opener and can may be positioned to permit the small amount of fluid remaining within the can to continue to drain out through the spout. The can may also be easily removed from the device by applying pressure as with the operators thumb against the thumb plate 27 or the locking member 41 to release the latch. The combined opener and spout may then be stored either in its latched position or in its open position with the heel 51 engaging the top 52 of stop member 18 and limiting the maximum open position of the spout.

While a certain preferred embodiment of the invention has been specifically disclosed, it should be understood that the invention is not limited thereto as many variations will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art and the invention is to be given its broadest possible interpretation within the terms of the following claim:

I claim:

A combined can opener and pouring spout comprising (a) a half cylindrical basemember having a bottom plate and an upper bracket at the open upper end thereof,

(b) a plate hinged to said base member at the upper open end and having mounted thereto a pouring spout and a cutting blade,

(c) a resilient member secured to said upper bracket and including a slotted spike extending upwardly from said member, said upper bracket being pro vided with a cut-out portion to accommodate said spike,

(d) a cut-out portion in said hinged plate in cooperating alignment with said slotted spike and adapted to pass said spike through said plate and to engage said slot in latching engagement,

(e) and means on said resilient member for moving said spike with respect to said plate to permit said plate to be released from its latching engagement with said spike.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS ROBERT B. REEVES, Primary Examiner. WALTER SOBIN, Examiner. 

